Laundry machine



iy 19, 9 2- R. APICELLA 2,283,527

LAUNDRY MACHINE Filed Aug. 19, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. RAL PH AP/CELLA ATTORNEYS.

May 19, 1942. R. APICELLA LAUNDRY MACHINE Filed. Aug. 19, 1940 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 z dz ATTORNEYQ RALPH AP/CELLA BY Patented May 19, 1942 2.283.527 LAUNDRY MACHINE Ralph Apicella, Jersey City, N. J., asslgnor to Apex Machinery 00., Newark, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 19, 1940, Serial No. 353,207

1 Claim.

.lhis invention relates to a laundry machine and, more particularly, to a laundry machine having a cylindrical tub portion in which is revolubly mounted a clothes container.

In machines of this general type, prior to the invention of this application, the clothes wntainer was rotated by means of a direct gear drive which necessitated th exact alignment of the driven gear. The driven gear, which was generally a large one, was difficult and expensive to replace after becoming worn. In prior machines, it was also difllcult to gain access to the clothes container or remove the same from the tub portion.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a laundry machine in which easy access to the clothes container may be had.

Another object of this invention is to provide a laundry machine in which the clothes container may easily be removed from the tub portion.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a laundry machine in which the driven gear on the clothes container shaft is eliminated.

,The above and other objects of the present invention will become apparent in the course of the following specification.

The above and other objects of the present invention may be realized by providing asubstantially cylindrical tub portion formed of a plurality of wood staves mounted on semi-circular supports and enclosed by end pieces. The upper section of the forward part of the tub portion is open.

The tub portion is formed in two substantially equal sections one separable from the other, the upper and lower portions normally being held together by means of removable end clamps.

Rotatably mounted within the tub portion in nested relation thereto is a cylindrical clothes container having a hinged door therein said clothes container being mounted on a shaft extending through the end pieces of the tub portion, the shaft being mounted in hearings on the end frame pieces.

Sprocket wheels are mounted on the shaft adjacent both ends of th clothes container and on the inner side of the tub end pieces. Drive chains connect the sprocket wheels to sprocket wheels mounted on a drive shaft supported from extensions on the end frame pieces. The drive shaft may be driven by means of a belt connecting it to a power source.

Th invention will appear more clearly from in connection with the accompanying drawings. showing by way of example a preferred embodiment of this invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an end elevational view partly broken away of the device of this invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view taken on the .line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on th line 3-3 of Figure l; and

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

The device of this invention comprises'a tub portion it having an upper section II and a lower section i2, one separable from the other.

The lower section i2 is substantially semicylindrical in shape and is composed of a plurality of wood staves I3 and is enclosed by opposit end pieces l4 and ii. The lower section i2 is supported by frame pieces l6, I1 and iii, the inner surface of which are of semi-circular shape to conform to the contour of the outside surface of the lower section i2 of the tub portion. The, frame pieces I8, I! and I3 may be anchored to the floor by any desirable means and may be braced by suitable cross pieces i3 and 20.

The upper section II of the tub portion comprises two semi-circular end pieces 2| and 22 at opposite ends thereof, the back being formed of a plurality of wood staves 23, the front thereof being open.

The upper section is held in relation to the lower section l2 on.-, one end by means of a semi-circular end clamp 24 formed of two parts 25 and 26, the part 25 being removably fastened to the front of the frame piec l3 by a bolt 21 and the part 26 being fastened to the rear of the frame piece I8 by a bolt 23. The two parts are fastened together by a bolt 29. Th opposite end of the upper section II is held in relation to the lower section by a similar clamp 30 likewise formed of two parts 3| and 32, the part 3| being removably fastened to the front of the frame piece 16 by a bolt 33 and the part 32 fastened to the rear of the frame piece It by a bolt 34. The two parts 3| and 32 of the clamp 33 are fastened together by a bolt 35.

A clothes container 36, cylindrical in shape and formed of a plurality of wood staves 31 fastened to opposite end plates 33 and 39, is revolubly mounted within the tub In in nested relathe following detailed description when taken 63 tion thereto. A shaft 43 on the end plate 33 and a shaft 4| on the end plate 39 extend through the adjacent ends of the tub iii, the shaft 40 being adapted to rotate in the pillow block 42 on th frame piece I6 and the shaft 4| to rotate in the pillow block 43 on the frame piece 18 and act as an axis upon which the clothes container rotates. The pillow blocks 42 and 43 may have ball bearings therein, as illustrated, or any other type of bearing.

Keyed on the shaft 40 between the end plate 33 and the end piece l4 of the tub Iii is a sprocket wheel 44. A sprocket wheel 46 is keyed to the shaft 4| between the end plate 33 and the end piece I5.

The sprocket wheel 44 is connected by means of a driving chain 46, passing through a slot 46a in the upper section II, to a sprocket wheel 41 fixedly mounted on a drive shaft 48. The drive shaft 48 extends longitudinally of the machine and is rotatably mounted at one end in a bearing 43 on an extension 50 on the frame piece IS, the opposite end being rotatably mounted in a bearing on an extension 52 on the frame piece [8.

The sprocket wheel 45 by means of a drive chain 53 which passes through a slot 54 in the upper section II of the tub portion I0 is connected to a sprocket wheel 55 fixedly mounted on the shaft 48.

The'shaft 48 is driven by means of a belt 56 passing over a, pulley 51 on the shaft 48. The belt 56 may be connected directly to a power source or connected to a reversing mechanism of any well known construction, not shown, which will rotate the clothes container 36 a predetermined number of times in one direction and then a predetermined number of times in the opposite direction.

The clothes container 36 has a door 58 extending lengthwise thereof, the door being hinged at 59 and 66. Each hinge has a locking mechanism 6! to hold the door closed when the container is being rotated. The door 56 has a plurality of holes 62 bearing a staggered relation to one another. If desired the door 56 may be divided into a plurality of longitudinal sections, so that it will be necessary to raise only one section at a time, avoiding the diiiiculty of raising the weight of a door extending the entire length of the container 36.

In an aperture 63 in the bottom of the tub I0 is a drain plug 64. One end of a lever 65 is pivotally connected at 66 to the plug 64 and at 61 to a bracket 68 mounted on the bottom of the lower section I! of the tub Ill. The opposite end of the lever 65 is pivoted at 69 to a vertically extending lever which is fastened to a handle ll pivoted at 12 to the end piece l4. A spring I3 is attached to the handle H and end piece 7 l4, the tension of the spring tending to pull the handle downwardly, holding the'plug 64 in position in the aperture 63. The handle II is lifted upwardly to drain the tub l0.

In the operation of the laundry machine of this invention, clothes are placed within the clothes container 36 after raising the door 58. The door is then closed and locked by the locking mechanism 6!, which consists of a headed pin 13 adapted to be passed through the clevis 14 and an aperture in the end of the hinge and held by means of a thumb screw 15. Cleaning fluid, water or any other: desired fiuid, is contained within the clothes container 36. Power is applied to the shaft 46 through the belt 56 and pulley 51, rotating the shaft. Rotation of the shaft 43 and sprocket wheels 41 and 55 causes rotation of the clothes container 36 through the drive chains 46 and 53 connected, respectively, to the sprocket 44 on the shaft 40 and the sprocket wheel 45 on the shaft 4|.

It becomes necessary after use of a laundry machine for a period of time to have access to the clothes container or inner cylinder 36. With the present invention, it is merely necessary to remove the end clamp 24 by removing the bolts 21, 23 and 29, and the end clamp 30 by removing the bolts 33, 34 and 35. After the drive chains 46 and 53 have been disconnected, the top or upper section II may be lifted away from the bottom or lower section i 2, giving access to the clothes container 36.

If it is desired to replace or for any other reason remove the clothes container from the tub Hi, the tops of the pillow blocks 42 and 43 are removed after removing the 'bolts holding them to the frame pieces l6 and I8, respectively. The clothes container 36 may then be removed from the tub I 0 by lifting the same upwardly and away from the said tub portion.

In the device of the present invention, driving gears on the clothes container 36 are dispensed with, these gears being costly and diflicult to align with the gears driving them, which leads to great expense when replacing them after they become worn. It is also difficult to re-assemble the machine and align the gears on the clothes container with the gears driving them. The

clothes container gears on present machines of this type are usually on the outside of the tub portion thereof where they constitute a danger to the operator of the machine, whereas in the device of the application, the sprocket wheel and driving chain are concealed behind the tub end pieces.

It is apparent that the specific illustrations shown have been given by way of illustration and not by way of limitation and that the structure above described is subject to a wide variation and modification without departing from the scope or intent of the invention, all of which variations and modifications are to be included within the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

In a laundry machine, in combination with a rotary cylindrical clothes container and a substantially cylindrical tub portionenclosing said container, driven shafts carrying said container and rotatable therewith, said shafts extending through opposite ends of said tub portion, said tub portion being longer than said container, sprocket wheels keyed upon said shafts and situated at opposite ends of said container within said tub portion, frame pieces situated at opposite ends of said tub portion and supporting the same, means carried by said frame pieces for supporting said shafts at opposite ends thereof, each of said frame pieces comprising an extension member extending to one side and above said tub portion, bearings carried by said extension members and situated above said tub portion, a driving shaft having two ends carried by said bearings, sprocket wheels keyed upon said driving shaft, and endless chains extending from each of the sprocket wheels upon the driven shafts to a separate sprocket wheel upon the driving shaft, said chains extending through openings formed in said tub portion.

RALPH APICELLA. 

